RuntheDamnBall

That's funny for a guy who ran a team that consistently got victimized by the Patriots. Conversely, the Ravens always had strong LB play and were more consistently a thorn in the side of the Pats.

Most likely they'll watch him get injured and put him into a game when he isn't healthy enough.

The second statement in particular could have been applied to Flacco or Eli until they got hardware.

New England hasn't drafted a QB with a first pick since Drew Bledsoe. Fortune favors the bold indeed. The past Super Bowl winners include Flacco - a mid-first rounder a la EJ - Robo - the third QB taken in 2004, Eli Manning, a late first rounder (Rodgers), a second-rounder on his second team (Brees), Peyton, and sixth rounder Brady. Kurt Warner is also in the mix with two appearances over that time, and McNabb, Delhomme, Grossman, Kaepernick and Dilfer have appeared in SBs. Wilson is the latest addition - a third rounder who was undervalued. I think a goodly number of these guys had question marks hanging over their heads as to whether they were "the guy" at some point during their careers. Eli looked like a lost child for a good duration of his early years. This all gives me hope for EJ, who has as good an attitude as anybody.

I'd also imagine there is fear out there that once you do that, you've basically given up on the next Favre, Warner, Brees, Young -- and the list of guys who have gone on to flourish with other teams is longer than the list of QBs who have eclipsed a young starter, I think.

I am on the same page with you here.

Without wanting to insult Graham's defenders, does anyone really think that any possible benefit could have been derived from an EJ Manuel answer to his hypothetical question? I understand asking this question in the aftermath of it actually having happened -- should the Bills draft a QB in round 1 or even 2. It would be natural to want to understand his reaction, his feeling of place, communication he's had with the team. In advance of the draft, it still reeks of sh-- stirring and generating column material. You may say that TG's job. It just makes me think less of his job if that's what he's being asked to do.

So what is it, you think, then, that makes teams stick with guys longer than it seems they should? It seems like two years is the going rate for most first rounders, unless they just look completely lost out there.

I hope you're trying to make EJ Manuel fans' point for them!

Still, this happened once in the past 25 years, with a team that at that time was more terrible than the current Bills, and a team that executed one of the great draft-pick pillagings of all time in the Herschel Walker trade. Given all this, could we fairly call the situation a bit of an outlier? Context, context, context. You're a smarter man than I am, so I know that you know this.

I don't know that that is the case, Badol, that guys are crushed by having to compete for their jobs. I do, sincerely, believe that guys don't always get the best opportunities to reach their potential. That very well could have happened for Aaron Rodgers as he sat on the bench and waited for his time in GB. Had he not gotten really intense instruction from Mike McCarthy, he may not have made the adjustments that made him great. There is only so much time to absorb from the coaching staff, and sometimes one great teacher makes all the difference in a guy's career. No one reasonable thinks that drafting a 1st round QB will crush EJ's spirit and hence his will to succeed in the NFL. It would undoubtedly curb the number of opportunities he would have to do so, though, and that's why many of us think the team should be cautious about adding another heir apparent into the mix. If he's the most talented guy out there -- sure, draft a QB. If he's another project, why have two of them on the roster with the expectation of giving them equal time? There is zero harm in finding out what they've got in Manuel this year. If he isn't better than the other QBs on our roster, his career will lead into career backup territory, you re-load or see if the other guys are better, and that's that. If he is, then the team has done its due diligence, and done what's best for a growing team -- not a young one as you've often noted, but a team that is growing an identity.

I think part of Tim Graham's object in this is to plant the question in our minds - "does EJ have a fragile ego?" Don't fall for it.

I have no use for this scumbag and this is just dressing on the sh-- sandwich. Pass.

I sincerely disagree. There are things that Lewis does better, but I did not see his ability to pull out tough games or bring the team back in the late minutes of games, which EJ was able to do a few times this season and not against terrible teams. EJ's YPA was higher by .6, and Thad wasn't dealing with knee injuries. Look, there is no reason to say that EJ doesn't have question marks. Can he correct his footwork? Will the game slow down for him in year 2? Can he stay healthy? Can he make running a part of his game without getting himself injured? These will all be important. These are all questions he can be legitimately asked. This hypothetical challenge that comes with insinuations is all about the person who makes that challenge, not the interview subject. Then, as a columnist, he is choosing to limit his audience. I don't really have any respect for the way he's approaching this.

Is his job to make the news or to report it?

Time for an apology thread!

You're on fire my friend.

With all due respect, I don't understand how he comes across as thinking he is irreplaceable. Isn't this editorializing? Or is there more you care to share? There isn't a player in the NFL who doesn't realize that you're always in a competition for your job. It seems you're suggesting EJ doesn't realize this. To me, he has been told by the team that they believe in him and that he'll be afforded the opportunity to prove that he is their guy. To select a first round QB would run counter to that. Now if the team has told him that and then does otherwise in the draft, it would seem that the tough questions should be directed towards the front office. Again, I still take issue with the phrasing of the question. You can ask difficult questions without attacking. This is a frickin' football player, not a congressman. And if it's as tough as you suggest to get these private sessions with EJ, then Graham clearly just blew it. That's why I'd like one of the more talented QBs in the draft in Aaron Murray, at an injury discounted draft slot.

I'm not surprised to see the people who have taken Graham's bait coming out in the second wave here. Manuel does have to prove he can stay on the field. No doubt about that. He doesn't need to feed a reporter who is disrespecting him, though. I think the kid understands it is all about his performance. There is no need to make it into anything more than that, despite the attempts of "reporters" to suggest that it's EJ that's making it personal.

I'm hoping that whomever mentioned liking Blake Shelton has never listened to .

The tough (and fair) question is - "how are you going to prove to the critics that you can be healthy enough to develop into the Bills' franchise QB?" This "what would you do if we get the QB controversy that I as a 3rd rate journalist am salivating for" crap is not a tough question. It's an easy question to answer. He obviously wouldn't like it. It doesn't make him a malcontent or anything that Graham appears to be planting the seed for here.

That EJ ended his response with a question - which he likely understood the implications of - is not excuse for a journalist to inject his opinion into the situation, is it? I think it's already been indicated, above, what a more tactful response would have been. Instead Graham is using it to launch his own boat. Potential drafting of a 1st round QB has been a topic of both discussion and contention for some time here. I don't get the sense that confronting Manuel about it was done with an interest in having that discussion. I'd love to be proven wrong. Well said.

The Pats don't draft first round QBs. Ever. Haven't since Bledsoe.

I think Tim Graham that hack is trying to make his opinion the news.

Graham shows who he is when he "conveniently" edits out the fact that he asked EJ his opinion on drafting a FIRST ROUND Qb, not just drafting another QB. He is trying to make Manuel look like a malcontent when he is just acting like anyone else would when challenged. Edit: appears it's at the bottom of his story, after he's set the tone. Still bush league.